Not over, but done: Lamine Yamal all smiles as he guides Barcelona to verge of title

Lamine Yamal had not crossed nan statement yet but he was celebrating already, everyone other pursuing him. It was not over, not officially, but it was done: nan derby and nan full damn thing. The nights Barcelona took their past 2 convention titles, they did truthful against RCD Espanyol, heading beyond nan metropolis limits and coming backmost arsenic champions; nan evening they took their 3rd successful 4 years, they faced nan aforesaid opponents: nan rivals Barca’s goalkeeper had grown up with and truthful galore of them had grown up against. Chased from nan Cornella transportation successful 2023, cycling up Avinguda Diagonal successful 2025, this clip it was nan 18-year-old pinch nan symbolic escape.

There were 3 and a half minutes near connected Saturday nighttime erstwhile it happened. Marc Casadó slipped nan shot through, Lamine Yamal ran connected to it and Marko Dmitrovic ran retired to it. The Barcelona guardant blocked nan Espanyol goalkeeper’s clearance, nan rebounded mounting him up and leaving Dmitrovic and everyone other to watch nan inevitable. Alone, moving free into nan area, an unfastened extremity earlier him, Lamine Yamal slowed, smiled, possibly moreover laughed a little, took successful nan moment, and raised his arms, Usain Bolt contemplating Richard Thompson and Walter Dix. He had not finished, his squad had not either, but he knew. They each did.

Lamine Yamal carried nan shot into nan nett and sat connected nan advertizing boards, looking astatine what he had conscionable done. From by nan bench, his teammates headed Lamine Yamal’s way, Fermín López first to arrive. 3-1 up against their metropolis rivals, 9 points up connected their top rivals, connected his 100th convention game, what he had conscionable done – what they each had – was nan convention title. At 18, it will beryllium his third. He smoothed down his hair, did a small creation and past nan game, vanished now, began again. Twenty-six seconds later, Marcus Rashford made it four. Lamine’s pass, different one, had started that too.

Lamine Yamal began his celebrations earlier scoring nan decisive extremity against Espanyol. Photograph: Bagu Blanco/Pressinphoto/Shutterstock

The third, decisive extremity had been a portrait, a metaphor for nan title race, a image of nan measurement it is: not done but done, not mathematically yet but soon, thing to observe already. If nan truth that it was Lamine Yamal that scored it felt correct – if nan way he scored it did too, a cheeky grin stretching crossed his face, untouchable now – nan truth that he was moreover still retired location astatine each was something.

Barcelona had led early, Ferran Torres ending a 14-game tally without a extremity by getting 2 of them, nan 2nd from an absurd Lamine Yamal pass, and it was almost clip for him and Pedri to exit early arsenic planned, a small remainder earlier Tuesday’s Champions League comeback mission astatine nan Metropolitano. Espanyol had not won successful 2026, a 14-game tally without a victory opening nan past clip they faced Barcelona. Their coach would kick that they had talented nan goals: getting out-jumped by Gavi, 5ft 7in, near you consciousness liking crapping each complete yourself, Manolo had González said. And, arsenic they waited successful nan passageway for nan 2nd half, Gavi had told his teammates “get nan 3rd and we termination them”.

Instead, Pol Lozano pulled 1 backmost earlier nan hr and nan derby, Hansi Flick admitted, sewage a spot “tight”, truthful Lamine Yamal and Pedri stayed on. “Espanyol’s car collapsed down weeks agone and nan Camp Nou wasn’t precisely nan spot to find a car shed to hole it,” wrote El Periódico, murdering their motoring metaphor. “In nan first half, nan motor was making a unusual sound and leaking oil, but successful nan second, it was a well-oiled machine, that uphill thoroughfare becoming a clear motorway”. Still only 2-1 pinch 5 minutes left, Roberto Fernández conscionable grounded to decorativeness from nan separator of nan six gait box. A small nervousness had crept in, an opportunity astatine consequence of slipping by. The place, González claimed, was now person to nan Les Corts cemetery conscionable complete nan northbound stand, wherever Paulino Alcántara and Ladislao Kubala lie. But past Lamine Yamal appeared, easing his measurement to nan line, nan Camp Nou rising again, revived, arsenic González sat there, caput successful his hands. Espanyol had been stuck astatine personification else’s statement again, wishing they were not there.

Manolo González watched connected arsenic his squad succumbed to yet different defeat. Photograph: Bagu Blanco/Pressinphoto/Shutterstock

There were olés and songs, chants that Espanyol could spell backmost to segunda: aft a brilliant commencement to nan season, their cushion complete relegation is still six points but they person only picked up 5 of 42, a tally nan defender Fernando Calero called “fucking shit”. Then fans collapsed retired their Bad Moon Rising. Parakeets, show maine really it feels / to person your location successful Cornella / They tore down Sarria / You went up nan upland / We kicked you retired nan metropolis / You went down to beryllium champions / Let’s believe you disappear. At nan full-time whistle, location were a fewer words – “Everyone’s a gunslinger erstwhile they win; erstwhile you lose, you person to swallow it,” González said later – but mostly location were embraces. Barcelona’s players – 8 of those who played had been successful nan academy, raised connected this rivalry – concisely bounced astir earlier nan fans and past headed astir nan pitch, chanting: “Yes, we can!”

Before nan derby, Flick had said that nan privilege was nan Champions League, that that was nan trophy they really wanted, and aft it nan home title soon gave measurement to thing bigger. And yet, his lineup belied that. Real Madrid had dropped 2 much points connected Friday to spell pinch nan 3 they dropped 8 days earlier, and nan pursuing evening Barcelona’s starting XI was astir arsenic bully arsenic it gets, nary concessions made. As nan derby progressed, fatigue was a fearfulness but this opportunity was excessively bully to fto spell of. And there, astatine nan end, was Lamine Yamal, nan title inevitable now.

Incontestable too. On Friday, Madrid drew 1-1 pinch Girona having been denied a past infinitesimal penalty, contempt Kylian Mbappé lying pinch humor crossed his look wherever he had been deed by Vitor Reis’s elbow. Yet while fans were furious, nan whistles from nan Santiago Bernabéu showed that this went deeper: existent anger is reserved for their ain squad and, stripped to basics, they cognize nan title is explained by thing simpler: Barcelona are better. Much better.

Real Madrid felt difficult done by successful their tie against Girona aft not receiving a punishment for Vitor Reis’s elbow to Kylian Mbappé’s face. Photograph: Mutsu Kawamori/AFLO/Shutterstock

When Madrid won nan clásico successful October, it was difficult to deliberation of an outstanding capacity but location was a consciousness that thing mightiness beryllium building and they were 5 points up of Barcelona, for whom thing was wrong. This was nan benignant of triumph that tin group up a full play and Madrid would beryllium apical until week 14. Flick, meanwhile, had warned “ego kills success” as early arsenic week three and had seen his squad torn isolated by Sevilla a fortnight earlier nan clásico. That nighttime though, Madrid’s triumph was eclipsed by Vinícius Júnior stomping off, which seemed absurd astatine nan clip and important arsenic nan days passed. They soon drew 3 successful a statement – Rayo, Elche, Girona – past lost to Celta. Barcelona hit them successful nan Super Cup final. Xabi Alonso was sacked. Albacete beat them successful nan Copa del Rey.

It sewage amended briefly, flashes of thing that they still bent connected to, particularly successful Europe, but mostly it sewage worse. Certainly successful nan league. It is still difficult to deliberation of a really awesome performance. Betis perhaps? Gonzalo García’s expansive night. By contrast, Barcelona person won 19 of 21 games since nan clásico – nineteen – and though Girona took them to pieces, that served arsenic a informing and nan different defeat, against Real Sociedad, was difficult to fathom, Rino Matarazzo looking to nan entity and citing “other explanations”, celestial ones. Although nan vulnerability remains, though Atlético destroyed them successful nan cup past defeated them successful Europe, Barcelona person dropped points only doubly since October; Madrid person dropped points successful 4 of nan past 7 games.

When Barcelona secured different derby triumph connected Saturday night, unbeaten now successful 30 games against Espanyol, they moved 9 points clear astatine nan apical of nan array pinch only 21 points near successful play. Sport’s screen declared “the convention successful nan bag,” while El Mundo Deportivo described it arsenic “a statement that tastes for illustration league,” earlier some of Catalonia’s sports dailies moved connected to bigger business inside. Ahead of nan rest, unreachable now and alert that it was done earlier it officially was, Lamine Yamal’s moment, nan grin and nan celebration, summed it up. “No, it’s not over,” Flick said but nan statement is conscionable location and nary 1 is going to drawback them now.